China and Global Cyber Governance: Main Principles and Debates

China’s participation in the global governance of cyberspace is no surprise. After more than twenty years of development, China has become a de facto cyber power, with the world’s largest body of Internet users and e-commerce transactions amounting to 22.97 trillion RMB (about US$3,534 billion) in 2016 (China E-Commerce Research Center 2017). Of the top twenty most visited websites in the world, seven are owned and operated by Chinese companies; and of the ten most popular social media sites in the world, six are China-based (Grumbach 2013). Chinese e-commerce giants such as Taobao.com are now growing rapidly beyond China and Asia, extending their market shares to North America and Europe. Moreover, tremendous room remains for China to develop e-commerce and Internet infrastructure, as its Internet penetration rate has only just exceeded 50 percent.¹ In addition, since 2008 and particularly after Xi Jinping took office in 2012, China’s involvement in global governance has increased significantly.

Drawing upon official documents and key academic writings, this commentary first outlines and explains the main principles adopted by the Chinese government in international meetings and negotiations regarding global cyber governance. I argue that the Chinese approach to global Internet governance can be labeled as “multilateral pluralism based on cyber sovereignty.” I then present the main criticisms of the principles underlying this Chinese approach, principles that diverge from the existing norms of global governance and seemingly contradict Western understandings, such as Internet freedom and the idea of multistakeholders. My aim is to bridge the gap between the Chinese and Western understandings, for it is an obstacle to consensus on global cyber governance.

Key Principles in China’s Approach to Global Cyber Governance

Safeguarding Cyber Sovereignty and Security

Cyber sovereignty is the core principle that China promotes in global cyber governance. Many other arguments and positions of the Chinese government on the issue originated from this core idea (Shen 2016). The new version of the National Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, promulgated on July 1, 2015, defined the concept of cyber sovereignty officially for the first time:

Countries should respect each other’s right to choose their own path of cyber development, model of cyber regulation and Internet public policies, and participate in international cyberspace governance on an equal footing. No country should pursue cyber hegemony, interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, or engage in, condone or support cyber activities that undermine other countries’ national security.

(Xi 2015)

The concept of cyber sovereignty is also the keyword in many of China’s domestic laws and regulations related to cybersecurity. Examples include the Cybersecurity Law, National Cybersecurity Strategy, and the Strategy of International Cooperation in Cyberspace.

China’s emphasis on the sovereign rights of states in cyberspace is a strong indication of its stand on global governance in general. From the official point of view, the existing global Internet governance system is still dominated by Western countries, particularly the United States, in terms of Internet resources, technology standards, international norms, and ideological discourse. The Chinese government seeks to resist the influence of Western ideologies via the Internet and, therefore, advocates sovereign control in cyberspace. In the wake of the “color revolutions” and the Arab Spring, Beijing’s government is concerned about external influences, transnational activism, and challenges to its regime.

Furthermore, even though cybersecurity is sometimes associated with the rise of nontraditional security problems, the Chinese government puts cybersecurity on a par with traditional security, seeing it as having characteristics typical of nonterritorial threats interwoven with national security concerns (Putra and Punzalan 2013; Srik 2014). As cyberattacks, Internet crime, and digital warfare pose direct threats to military facilities, national intelligence, and the national security system, cyberspace has become a fifth battlefield alongside land, sea, air, and space in reality. To deal with cyberspace problems, states utilize both nontraditional and traditional security means. As the Internet goes deeply into every aspect of our social lives, a serious shortage of security measures cannot be adequately met by corporate or civil society actors. The Chinese...